Chapter 18

18

A knock sounded on the door to my office, and one of my sentries alerted us to someone requesting an audience. “Enter,” I yelled, scratching the last of a set of instructions to the Iron Realm’s finance advisor before straightening in my chair. Izidora snapped her book shut and set it on the leather couch beside her.

Liliana swept into the room, steps faltering momentarily when she noticed Izidora. I clocked the movement, curiosity raising one dark brow. She stopped in front of my desk, twisting a paper between her fingers. She opened her mouth to speak, then closed it, repeating the process several times while she struggled to form words. Eventually, she shifted from foot to foot, looking between us, though it was clear she was here to speak with me.

Was it something with Drazen?

“Do you want something to drink?” Izidora asked, probably sensing Liliana’s nervousness through her empath abilities. Hopefully, some alcohol would loosen her tongue, though it struck me as odd that the only time she needed that was now.

“Yes, please,” she said with a slight shake in her voice as she took a seat in front of me.

On the far side of my desk, a tray with neatly arranged crystal glasses and a hefty etched bottle of amber liquor waited for moments such as these. Grabbing three glasses and the alcohol, I poured a measure in each before handing one to her. Izidora floated her glass to her using tendrils of her white magic.

Liliana threw the drink back with a hiss, not even waiting for the traditional saying of the Iron Realm to pass from my lips. I merely sipped from mine and then rested it against the desk, swirling it as I studied her. Liliana seared her eyes into the paper in her hands, unable to meet either of our gazes. She smoothed the scroll over her leg. “I got this a while ago, but I haven’t figured out the right time to say anything.”

Her words hung in the air as I waited for her to continue, wondering what that slip of paper held.

Finally, she sighed, then lifted her gaze to meet mine. “Endre sent me this note. He, Viktor, and Kazimir will be in the Day Realm when we arrive.”

Her words landed like the fireballs that they were, and my shoulders and jaw tightened immediately. The glass I had been holding shattered, scattering a thousand tiny shards over the table and cutting into my hand. I ignored the metallic scent that filled my nostrils as red coated my vision.

“And you waited until the day before we were supposed to leave to tell me this?” I growled, rising ever so slowly to my feet and towering over the female in front of me. To her credit, she straightened her shoulders and didn’t back down. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Izidora pale.

“We were busy with other things. Plus, you haven’t told anyone in the other realms that Izidora is awake yet. It will be a shock to everyone.” Liliana defended her actions like the traitor she was.

“Whether she is awake or not is irrelevant. Her protection against that bastard is what matters. Surely you of all people would have thought of that.” My words were aimed to wound, but I was pissed and didn’t give a fuck.

Liliana’s eyes flashed with hurt and then anger. “You don’t think I care about that? She’s my best friend!”

“She is my mate!” I roared, smashing my fists on the desk and sending more shards spearing into my hands. “And the last time he saw her, she almost died. She spent six months in a void because of him.”

The need to slake this rage was all consuming, and I grabbed another glass and threw it against the wall. It shattered with a satisfying crunch, but it barely took the edge off. Izidora hadn’t moved, nor was she trying to siphon away my anger. Her eyes were glassy, faraway, and her chest rose and fell at a rapid pace. The urge to race to my mate’s side and comfort her warred with the one to wrap my hands around Liliana’s shoulders and shake her for her insolence.

“Are you seriously protecting Endre after all of this? After Drazen?” Liliana and I had never explicitly talked about their relationship, but I knew Drazen held deep feelings for her, even if she didn’t return them in the same way.

“Drazen knows how I feel about Endre,” she replied coolly. “And my brother and parents also live in the Night Realm.”

“And all of them are loyal to him. Yet here you are, choosing Izidora. So why do you remain loyal to them when you are in my realm?” Liliana’s eyes brimmed with angry tears, and she crossed her arms over her chest. But I wasn’t finished. “We are going to war , Liliana. Do I need to start excluding you from our planning meetings? Banning you from training with my soldiers? Should I leave you behind so you don’t go running to your family with all our secrets, trying to save them?”

In one smooth motion, I was over the desk and towering over her, shaking with the force of my rage. Slowly, like a predator cornering its prey, I placed an arm on either side of her high-backed chair, caging her in. The light from the windows was snuffed out from my bulk, casting the Night Fae in shadow.

“Where. Do. Your. Loyalties. Lie?” I spit out the words like the venom they were. The fact that I even had to ask that fucking question lit another blaze in my blood.

For the first time, true fear flashed in her eyes, and the smell of it filled my sensitive nostrils. “With Izidora.” Her eyes snapped to her best friend whose swirl of emotions blasted down our bond, mixing with my own.

Her answer was not good enough for me. Not when she’d lived for free under my roof, drinking my wine, eating my food, wearing clothes and jewels Drazen had gifted her. “And?”

“The északi Empire,” she gritted out, fists clenching from where they were bunched up beneath her arms.

“Of which the Night Realm is not a part,” I reminded her, turning my back on her and stalking to Izidora. I secured her in my arms, hating how she trembled. That only angered me more. In one rough motion, I switched us so my back was against the couch and Izidora was nestled between my thighs.

“Beg for Izidora’s forgiveness,” I growled at Liliana.

“She doesn’t nee–” Izidora started to say, but my grip on her hip tightened, silencing her.

Liliana’s seafoam green eyes filled with guilt as she stared at us, her shield of anger melting as she saw the effect her betrayal had on my mate.

“Is that what was on the note?” she asked in a weak voice.

Liliana nodded.

“Why didn’t you tell me then?” Izidora whispered. The shaky breath she dragged in vibrated against my chest, and then I felt that fierceness rising in her, that fire that captivated me sparking to life.

Liliana hung her head. “I don’t know.”

“You got the note in front of Izidora and didn’t tell her?” I clarified, a warning note ringing in my tone.

She nodded again.

“Get. On. Your. Knees.” I bit out every word, glaring at Liliana with so much violence that this time, she didn’t hesitate to obey.

Sliding from the chair, she prostrated herself on the ground, hair spilling around her as she lifted her gaze. “I’m so sorry, Izidora. Please know that I never meant to hurt you.”

Izidora squared her shoulders, leaning ever so slightly out of my hold. I let her go, wanting her to show off her power, what she was capable of. After all, we were the most powerful Félvér in all of északi, and everyone should quake on their knees in awe of our might.

“I sense your sincerity and regret for not telling us sooner, and I know you’ve struggled with your feelings for both Endre and Drazen. For those reasons alone I will forgive you. But you hurt me, Liliana. I thought we were better friends than this. I thought we told each other everything.” Izidora’s voice wavered with her last statement, and twin tears tracked down Liliana’s cheeks.

“I know. I’m so sorry. This whole friendship thing is new to me too.” She pushed herself to stand, her shoulders slumped.

Izidora rose from the couch and embraced her friend. “Please don’t keep something like that from me again.”

Liliana gripped her back with an intensity that told me she wouldn’t fuck up again. But my rage hadn’t abated, and it would take far more time for me to move on from this than Izidora. I stalked back to my desk and righted my chair before settling into it again. Once the two broke apart, I snarled, “You may go now.”

“But I thought everything was fine,” she protested, glancing between Izidora and me.

“You have repaired your friendship with Izidora, but my trust will take more time to earn back,” I snapped, swiping at the shards of glass still decorating the polished wood surface.

Liliana opened her mouth to speak, but I held up a hand to silence her. “Go!” The frayed threads of my self-control were unraveling too quickly for me to stop them. An itch burst along my skin, and through the haze of fury, I spotted black scales sucking in the sunlight.

Izidora raced to my side, placing a hand on my arm and trying to siphon away some of my emotions.

Liliana spun on her heel and stomped to the door, slamming it open with a bang that rattled the books on the shelves. It closed with just as loud of a smack, a roar of fury following it a moment later as I lifted my chair and smashed it against the window.

“Ruslan, everything is okay,” Izidora spoke softly, but I ignored her, too infuriated to form a coherent sentence.

Should we even go to the Day Realm if Kazimir and his crew were going to show up like the scorned dogs they were?

“No, it is not,” I replied, chest heaving. “I am the emperor, and it is my duty to make an appearance for those who bow to me. But I cannot and will not risk your life for theirs. Not when Kazimir is fucking insane and might try to kill you again in a fit of jealousy. Especially since no one knows you are awake.”

Her aquamarine eyes drank me in, filled with so much love that it made my heart ache. This was the love I had always sought, the love the Goddess had gifted me. And I wasn’t going to risk it for anything.

No, we would not be going to the Day Realm.

We would be preparing our soldiers for war and attacking the Night Realm while its monarch was away trying to pretend that he still mattered.